Shoelaces
by WhaleTheFatDolphin
Summary: The School for Good and Evil returned to its former glory in time for Hester and Chaddick to become Fourth-Year Captains. At the Welcoming, things couldn't be more normal, except for a student entering the School of Good, 3 years older than the other First-Years. A student with a talent so close to the Storian's it's uncomfortable. A student who wants both Fourth-Year Captains.
1. The Oldest First-Year

**Shoelaces**

 **A/N: First off, thank you for stopping by and that my summary intrigued enough! Second, prepare for spoilers about all three books. Third, please leave feedback! Whether it's a follow, favourite or review, it'd be greatly appreciated! (Also constructive criticism is welcomed, feel free to tear it apart) Other than that, enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter One: The Oldest First-Year**

* * *

To think that Henrietta was going to be a First-Year at the School of Good... at 17. She flushed with embarrassment as she watched princesses bloom from the flower garden, all of them barely feeling the effects of womanhood. Some of them glanced at her with surprise, curiosity and a small hint of apprehension. It wasn't enough to be worried about it, but she still could see it. It was a small flicker, like a firefly's enigmatic light in the middle of a dark forest.

With a small huff, she grabbed her burlap sack of supplies: a memento from each of the children back home (most of the bag's contents were said mementos), her pajamas, an extra pair of clothes, three handmade notebooks and a pen. Henrietta hoisted it over her shoulder and proceeded to head towards the large, pristine and prestigious castle. All the young princesses that she was with were in stark contrast against her.

Where the young girls wore all sorts of stylish dresses, gowns and ensembles, all of them in bright, pastel colours, Henrietta wore a dowdy dress the shade of polished oak. The simple sleeveless bodice silhouetted her figure while the skirt fell in a drab way. She wore a creamy beige undershirt, with loose sleeves that came down to the middle of her forearm, kept there with elastic cuffs. The sleeves of the undershirt were dirtied with blanched flour stains and cocoa smears. The dress even had a few grease stains, but the dreary folds could conceal most of them.

Shame, Henrietta thought, this was her best dress. She shrunk into herself, keeping her eyes on the ground, but pressed on.

However, she could notice that all of them had glorious shoes. Adorable ballet flats, glamorous heels, pretty wedges... Henrietta flushed with even more embarrassment, making sure that her scuffed loafers were hidden underneath her dress. She loved shoes, dreamed of shoes and now, she saw the most beautiful shoes she's seen in all her life on would-be princesses.

How could she compare to these pretty, young First-Years?

* * *

Henrietta was fidgeting by the time she reached the Theater of Tales, feeling awkward in her pink pinafore. She enjoyed the shoes, really enjoyed the shoes, but that was about the only thing she enjoyed about the uniform. Everything else was strange. The skirt of the pinafore was too short for her taste and showcased her bruised, scratched legs. She didn't like the dip of the collar that exposed her collarbones, not that anything was wrong with them.

Still, she followed the crowd of buzzing identical pinafores. She was the last one into the Theater, awkward amongst all the First-Years. Anyone could tell she wasn't the same kind of youth as these girls. She tried to blend in as well as she could, but she felt a lot of eyes on her. Particularly the Fourth-Years. Questioning the same things she did.

"The boys are going to spar on the stage," one of the First-Years whispered, "My sister told me that's what's going to happen, even if it's on the Evil side of school."

"How many roses do you think we'll get?" another First-Year whispered.

"How handsome will they be?"

"What if we meet our True Love here!"

"Oh gosh, I'm so excited!"

"I wonder how their form is." All the First-Years turned to Henrietta as soon as the words left under her breath. She straightened her back and flashed a weak, but polite smile. "The better prince will have the better form, right? If a prince is stumbling and dashing his sword about carelessly, you can tell he hasn't practiced proper form... you know, just to keep an eye out."

The other girls began to murmur, agreeing to look out for their footwork. Henrietta hadn't muttered it to scope out her prince. In fact, she didn't want a prince at all. What use would be a prince back home? The only reason she muttered it was because she was curious to see who she'd be able to go against in swordsmanship.

The Nevers filed in, both girl and boy, in black, ill-fitting robes and with such uniqueness, Henrietta had to gasp. They were all so different from each other, some with green skin, red skin and utterly white skin. They were tall and short, skinny and fat, ugly and beautiful. They were unique, not dowdy and plain and could be mistaken for any other village girl in the kingdom.

Henrietta's breath caught in her throat when three robes entered behind everyone else. One of them was fat, but sweet-faced (even if it was completely covered in smeared chocolate). The other was ghostly white and bewitching, looking like she had something to prove. But, their uniqueness, their enchanting, malicious demeanours, paled in comparison to their leader.

She had black hair streaked with red. Sure, it wasn't the cleanest hair but it was brilliant on her. A red tattoo on her neck barely peeked out of her robes, but Henrietta still couldn't make out what the tattoo was. The look on her face said it all: in control, powerful, vicious... and strangely calm. Even the other two students behind the leader glanced back and forth, gauging competition. The leader didn't waver as she sat down in one of the black pews.

Henrietta didn't even realize she was staring until the albino student nudged the leader, then pointed towards her and muttered something. Instantly, Henrietta tried to look absolutely interested in the conversation about how tight the princes' breeches would be.

The shouts of clamours of the princes could be heard offstage. The princesses held their breath and the gritting of the Nevers' teeth could be heard from Henrietta's seat. She sunk lower into the pews, trying to hide herself from detection.

If _he_ saw her, she'd never hear the end of it.

As expected, the First-Year princes were shoddy and were easily overwhelmed by the older princes. There were a few princes whose talents weren't swordplay, thus they stuttered just as much as the newbies. The Nevers' booed and jeered, some even throwing rotten food on the stage. Many of the Evergirls swooned. Once the whole show was over, and a prince had come out on top, the Everboys were guided to their seat. Roses decorated the pews, certain Evergirls earning more roses than others. A few sulked with none to their name. Henrietta couldn't care.

Once she examined the princes' footwork, her eyes were immediately glued to the other things belonging to the Theater: the murals, the smoky images of both sides of the Theater, and the ultimate divide between them. Her eyes didn't land on the ground because it'd make her obvious to _him_.

Unfortunately, when her eyes did reach the ground once Castor and Pollux, the two-headed dog, took the stage, there was a rose daintily standing idle beside her shoes. At first, she thought it because of bad aim.

But then, she saw a note tied to the stem of the rose. She saw familiar handwriting, with the occasional smudge of ink because of his left-handedness. Henrietta didn't look up to try and find him. They'd talk, eventually.

The note read: "I'll see you at lunch, chicken."

Henrietta hated that nickname.

* * *

"Who were you talking to at lunch?" Mildred asked, her voice curious and sultry. She was a sweet child but had quite the way to wedge into business.

Henrietta shrugged, "His name's Chaddick. He's my age so he'd be..."

"A Fourth-Year! Hennie, do you know how lucky you are? A Fourth-Year not only acknowledging, but speaking, to a First-Year!" Mildred gushed. Her peach-colored cheeks dusted with a peppery red. She had chubby cheeks, baby fat trying desperately to cling to her defining cheekbones. Her hair was the colour of cinnamon, pulled into two symmetrical buns. Bright, auburn eyes shone even when she wasn't smiling. Her dress was like the petals of buttercups: rigid, cute and exuberantly yellow. So yellow, that when Henrietta looked at her, she couldn't help but smile.

"We are the same age, milady–"

"Oh, there you go again, Hennie! Talking to me as if I'm some princess already. I'm only a duchess, sixteenth in line to my kingdom. I'm not even close to a princess!" Mildred giggled, looking at the two girls' other roommate. "Should we start calling Hennie 'milady', too, Reina?"

"I-I-I-I don't know."

Reina was the pale to Mildred's bright. Her skin was the colour of milky ivory, her wheat-blonde hair pulled into a high ponytail. The ponytail was absurdly long and Henrietta was sure that she's never had to do anything that would threaten her hair's length. Her eyes were periwinkle, a light blue with the faintest splash of purple. Her dress was a pale mint green that fell to the ground, sleeves hiding her small, dainty palms, as well. She squirmed when Henrietta and Mildred's eyes landed on her.

Henrietta quickly looked back to Mildred, who was bouncing on her bed. "Regardless, there's nothing to gush about with Chaddick and I."

"There's everything to gush about with you and Chaddick! You guys have the same gray eyes–"

"His are stormier. Mine kind of just... have no colour to them."

"You guys have such wonderful, smooth skin–"

"His skin is lucky that way. I have to work for mine, you have no idea."

"You guys both have such great posture–"

"We were taught by the same person. Nothing special."

"You guys–wait, you know Chaddick from outside of school?"

Henrietta nodded, letting out a soft sigh. "It's what I'm trying to tell you. Chaddick and I have history, the kind of history that no romance could possibly come out of. He's like a brother to me!"

"Then why weren't you happy to see him?" Mildred gasped, enjoying the plot twist. She was trying to mull out all sorts of possibilities for the two, her speculations clear on the reflection of her eyes.

"He's the kind of brother that would stuff your head in his sweaty armpit for not complimenting his new hairdo."

"Ah."

Henrietta shrugged. She was never mad at Chaddick for treating her that way, it was just the way it is. Her lunch with him was no different than her lunch with him back home. He poked her ribs, she doubted his talent, he called her a chicken, she pinched his ears. They bickered and argued back and forth but managed to laugh and snort along the way, as well. She couldn't see herself having a romance with the boy who would shamelessly fart in front of her and admit to clenching his buttocks in front of other girls.

"Still, maybe you'd be the one to understand Chaddick better than the fairest one. Just like Queen Agatha!" Mildred chirped. Henrietta laughed, gracefully swaying towards the window of their room. She leaned against the windowsill.

Her eyes rested on the Evil school, glowing darkly across the bay. She could only wonder about what was on the other side. The one thing she wondered the most was about the leader of the witch coven, the Fourth-Year Captain. She wanted to see the tattoo for herself, the tattoo that haunted Chaddick in the last two Trial by Tales. She wanted to see Hester.

"I don't think so, milady."


	2. An Unspoken Connection

**Shoelaces**

* * *

 **Chapter Two: An Unspoken Connection**

* * *

"I don't get it," Chaddick was saying as he readied his arrow. The young prince of Northern Hills was practicing his archery, not that it was shoddy. His entire talent was based on accuracy, the bow, and the arrow. Something he constantly flaunted in Henrietta's face. "Why are you starting in school so late? Why couldn't you have started with people your age?"

 _"Why couldn't you have started with me?"_

"I don't know, sir. The invitation popped onto our doorstep one day, addressed to me. Your father said it'd be a good idea for me to go, given everything that's happened in the last few years," Henrietta muttered, reading a book with no title on its spine.

 _"I was forced to come."_

Chaddick drew the arrow, aimed and fired. Although there was a target straight in front of him, he had meant for it to hit the target behind him. Just as he had practiced so many times before, the arrow was dug deep in the bull's eye of the back target. "It doesn't make any sense. And when something doesn't make sense here at school, it's usually a bad thing. Trust me, I know. We need to figure it out as soon as possible."

 _"You're not going to endure what I had to, I'll make sure of it."_

"I'm not some princess you need to look after, sir. I am your _maid_."

Unfortunately, the blunt remark was meant exactly as it was said. The sternness in her voice made Chaddick miss the front bull's eye by an inch.

"What did you say, Hennie?"

"You heard me, sir. Or you wouldn't have missed. I am your maid. I do your laundry, I cook your food, I clean your chambers. You'd be an idiot to think that I'm anything different," Henrietta retorted, the same sternness making her voice steely. It was different than her polite tone used when she's with any other student.

"That's not what I meant–"

"Of course, it's not. But it was hidden there and you know it."

"Hennie–"

"I don't want to hear another word on the matter, sir. You focus on your studies and I'll focus on mine. From now on, we're to be as formal as we are when your father's around. No more funny business," Hennie said. Her voice was crisp, authoritative and even regal. Chaddick knew what that voice was.

Her _'mom'_ voice.

"You know, I'm 2 months older than you." Chaddick's grin was cocky and playful.

 _"You're not going to tell me what to do."_

Henrietta was shocked, at first. She was trying to be the mature one, here. She didn't need to hear one more rumor about her wooing Chaddick. Instead, she let out a soft laugh as a smile stretched across her lips. "Listen to me, Chad."

"Yeah, yeah, we won't be friends. We'll be senior and junior. We won't sit with each other at lunch anymore or skip classes–"

"Which was a very bad idea, by the way, you impatient oaf."

"Okay, sorry, I had to tell you as soon as I found out that Tedros gave Agatha a promise ring. That's big news. Big news deserves big ears."

A gasp stopped Henrietta from interrupting as she put her hands over her ears, which weren't actually big at all, but rounder than other girls.

"From now on, we'll only see each other after school and only as senior-junior study sessions. There are a lot of pointers I could teach you. On how to be the right princess, of course."

"Of course," Henrietta pouted, her hands still over her ears. "No better teacher than the pompous prince whose expectations are so high that even Queen Agatha eluded him."

Chaddick had punched her arm so hard, she knew it'd bruise. But that didn't stop her from laughing with him, her hands finally leaving her ears.

* * *

"You're not seeing Chaddick anymore," Mildred whined as they all ate lunch together in the Clearing. Henrietta shrugged and bit into her sandwich, which she made herself. She wasn't going to let anyone else cook for her, something she promised herself at a very young age.

"Did something... you know, happen?" Reina squeaked. Henrietta shook her head, still not finished chewing her sandwich.

"Then what? You guys make it look so _easy_ ," Mildred wailed, her shoulders slumping. She looked miserable, but Henrietta knew it was just a ruse so she could what she wants. Still, Henrietta raised an eyebrow after she swallowed. "Oh, don't be like that, Hennie. You know what I mean. Being friends, even though you're a girl and he's a boy. That's what you guys make look so easy. If you guys aren't talking to each other, all hope for friendships amongst gender is lost."

Henrietta couldn't help but laugh.

"Don't use Chaddick and I as an example. We're a bad example, you guys don't even know our history and why we make it look so easy. You're hardly going to go through the same circumstances," Henrietta chirped.

The Clearing was abuzz with students chattering away. Some of it nice chatter, such as when the Evergirls giggled about whatever fashion mishap stories they had, some of it whooping chatter, such as when the Everboys landed in a goal in their makeshift game of rugby, but a lot of it was grumbly chatter that came from the Nevers. Henrietta was about as close to finding out what's on the other side as she was during the first day of school. She could imagine what the Never complained and grunted about.

Every now and then, when she looked over her shoulder to glimpse at the Nevers, she'd find Hester with her arms crossed and her eyes glaring right at her. As quick as a hare, she'd turn towards Mildred and Reina.

Mildred huffed, looked even more miserable than before. Henrietta had no other advice to give her. She hardly approached other girls, let alone boys.

"What _is_ your history with Chaddick, Hennie?" Mildred asked after a few moments of silence, not meaning to sound suspicious at all. Her voice was still bubbly and sweet, but sickeningly curious. Henrietta studied her two roommates. Over time, the two began to look up to Henrietta in a way they would a big sister. And indeed, the two were equally as curious to her history as the other.

Henrietta pondered on if she should tell the story. The entire story was quite winded. The entire story wasn't needed to answer the question. After all, stories were never told to their fullest. So, she shrugged as nonchalantly as she could. "My family owes King James, Chaddick's father, a debt and we had nothing to offer but our lives. So, we all became servants of the royal family, including Chaddick. That didn't stop us from being friends and he'd always tell stories about his princely ventures and I'd always tell stories about my... commoner duties."

"Commoner duties? Is that what you just called your journeys?" Chaddick yelled from across the clearing. Henrietta whipped her around to face him and frowned. How on earth could her hear from over there? Quickly, she scanned around the picnic table.

A tabby cat with orange and black stripes mewed near Henrietta's feet. With a harrumph, she kicked the cat away. It let out a yeowl and dashed away, straight towards Chaddick, who was grinning from ear to ear. It didn't take long for the sidekick to Mogrify back into its original form, a large tiger with huge paws and a swishing tail. The tiger groaned as it nuzzled its nose against Chaddick's open palm. Henrietta could only scowl.

Mildred gasped. Now, there was going to be no calming down this girl. "What journeys, Hennie? Oh, tell me, tell me, tell me!"

"King James is a king not renowned for his swordsmanship, his archery or his jousting. King James' best talent is spellcasting. Very often, he'd need ingredients that weren't found in the Northern Hills. As a royal servant, it was sometimes my job to embark on missions for them, since no one would expect a village girl to gather them. The perfect way to avoid a fairy tale is to be as normal as possible," Henrietta explained. Mildred frowned lightly. It was clear that she didn't agree with Henrietta. On what point, Henrietta didn't know. But the frown quickly evaporated when she asked what kind of ingredients Henrietta would go searching for.

Reina was quiet, listening all the while. Henrietta and Mildred were so immersed in the story that they didn't notice Chaddick's tiger Mogrifying back into a cat to eavesdrop on them. Reina couldn't get it out of her head.

Chaddick was always watching over Henrietta, even when it didn't look like it. The pale, quiet little girl knew there had to be something more between them. An unspoken connection.

* * *

"Do you think she could be like Sophie and Agatha?" Dot asked, not even looking up from her gruel-turned-chocolate.

"No."

"Then why is she with all the little ones?" Anadil mused, teasing her rats with some of her food.

"I don't _know_."

"There's got to be something special about her!" Dot chirped.

"No. She's ordinary. As Good as any other baboon over there."

"She kicked that cat no problem," Dot pressed.

"Agatha would've done the same."

Hester sighed, defeated on her interest in the girl. Perhaps it was those glances she gave the trio. When she thought no one was looking, her eyes would land on them then turn away just as fast. But it wasn't her being scared of them. Those two little cupcakes were scared of Hester's coven. Not her, there was something else in her eyes when she looked.

"Agatha was scared she was going to enjoy Evil her first year here, remember?" Dot gushed, her voice slurring from chocolate stuck in her teeth. "Oh, how the times were simpler then."

A wry smile threatened on Hester's lips. She missed Agatha, she couldn't deny it. Sophie was always on her nerves, but that was the way it's always been. Sometimes, she'd find herself reminiscing on how things used to be before their fairy tale ended.

The new girl was a lot like Agatha though she had no counterpart. There wasn't a First-Year that was as old as Hester in the School for Evil. There weren't enough similarities. The new girl fit in just fine and never crossed the line for someone else. It was always just those fleeting glimpses towards the other side. What could it possibly mean?

"Maybe she's..."

"Well, whatever she is, we'll find out soon enough," Anadil crooned.

"What are you talking about?" Hester hissed as she glared at her friend.

"She's walking this way!"


End file.
